Chapter Indigenous Communities in the Arctic Change in Socio-Economic and Environmental Perspective Violetta Gassiy Abstract In recent decades, the world has undergone significant changes in the environ- ment, which have led not only to economic losses but also to a deterioration in the quality of human life, a change in the usual way of life. The Arctic today is in the focus of geopolitical and economic interests, the impact on the region of global warming. The ice retreats giving humanity new transport corridors, thereby attracting new participants from non-Arctic countries. Japan, China, and South Korea are interested in developing the Northern Sea Route for the delivery of goods and the development of economic ties between Europe and Asia. However, the importance of this route is also connected with transportation of hydrocarbons and other minerals extracted in the Arctic. Industrial development is a priority for the Arctic countries, and climate change makes remote areas of the subsoil more acces- sible. Especially this issue should be considered for Russia, where the development of the Arctic is experiencing a third wave and this process affects the interests of state, business, and population including indigenous communities, whose number is more twice than in the rest of the world (2.8 million residents in the Russian Arctic with approximately 4 million people in the Arctic totally). Keywords: indigenous community, Arctic, climate change, territories of traditional nature use, sustainable development, Russia, Yakutia 1. Introduction At the beginning of this century, the topic of global climate change became of particular relevance for the regions of the Arctic and the North. This problem is actual in modern conditions. The Arctic climate changes faster than any other part of the world; this is the only highly integrated system in this belt; changes in the Arctic will have a big impact on other parts of the world. The Arctic will become an increasing center of world attention. Over the past few decades, the average annual temperature due to an increase in the average winter temperature in the Arctic has grown two times faster than elsewhere, causing the melting of sea ice and perma- frost and a reduction in the snow period. The consequences of global warming in the Arctic are already obvious and numerous. Modern climate changes significantly affect coastal communities, species diversity of animals and plants, human health and welfare, as well as the economy and infrastructure of the Arctic regions. Global warming is the process of gradual growth of the average annual temperature of the 1 Arctic Studies - A Proxy for Climate Change surface layer of the Earth’s atmosphere and the World Ocean, due to all sorts of reasons (increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmo- sphere, changes in solar or volcanic activity, etc.). Global warming will change the habitats of many species of terrestrial and marine flora and fauna. The most large- scale changes will be felt by the indigenous peoples of the North, whose life is inseparably linked with the natural environment. As the permafrost is thawing, the threat of destruction of buildings, roads, pipelines, airports, and other infrastruc- ture increases, which in a number of cases will lead to significant economic losses, deterioration in the quality of drinking water supply, social tension, forced migra- tion, and, as a result, an increase in the number of infectious and noninfectious diseases, including mental disorders and psychosomatic and addiction diseases. Indigenous peoples of the North are the most vulnerable category of the population to the climate negative impact in the Arctic. Limiting the possibility of using bioresources as a result of hunting and reindeer herding, fishing, and gathering, as well as reducing the safety of movement when the parameters of ice and weather conditions change significantly, increases the risks to health and life and, possibly, in the future, threatens the very existence of some nationalities and cultures. Gradually, in countries the understanding comes that the nature is the original environment of human life, but not capital, which should be used in economic circulation. Preservation of this environment is becoming one of the main tasks of state policy based on the principles of energy efficiency and resource saving. For example, in the Russian Federation, such basic documents as the Strategy of Eco- logical Safety of Russia [1], the state program on energy efficiency and development of energy [2], etc. were adopted. However, despite the billions of dollars invested by developed countries in greening the economy, the development of innovative technologies, and the reduction of greenhouse gases, there are still no visible effects on a global scale, and in fact the world is facing a degradation of the natural environment. As Nobel laureate academician Vladimir Kotlyakov notes, our planet is experiencing an era of global warming. The increase in global air temperature in the last century was slightly more than 0.7°C. However, over the past 30 years, this growth has increased, which is especially reflected over the continental regions of Eurasia and North America and most of all in the Arctic [3]. The current model of the functioning of the world economy allows us to make disappointing forecasts: the growing population of the Earth will be able to supply the products of consumption only with the increase of production, the improvement of technologies, and, unfor- tunately, the destruction of the biosphere. Figure 1 demonstrates the anomalies of temperature values in the Northern Hemisphere, including the Arctic. This gives grounds to predict the increasing influence of negative factors on the ecosystem of this region, as well as on the life of the indigenous population. Certainly, climate change is a particularly important issue in the context of the development of the Arctic and the indigenous communi- ties that inhabit it. Indigenous peoples also have their own observations related to climate change, since no one can see better what is happening now in the North, and there are significant shifts in their strategies for adapting to these changes. Traditional knowledge is a valuable resource that can and should be used in various fields of exploration and development of the Arctic. Unfortunately the representa- tion of indigenous peoples in international governance structures does not guaran- tee that traditional knowledge is entirely engaged in evidence-based policy making and that traditional knowledge is not always valued as an equal source of knowledge by some relevant scientific bodies [4]. Hundreds of years of tribal communities’ observations over the changes in the Arctic, the formation of ideas about the laws of nature, beliefs in the “living land of ancestors” give today the opportunity to transform traditional knowledge into the daily practice of government, business, 2 Indigenous Communities in the Arctic Change in Socio-Economic and Environmental Perspective DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80765 Figure 1. Map of monthly values and anomalies of meteorological values in the northern hemisphere for June 2018 (source: https://meteoinfo.ru/anomalii-tabl3). and scientists in the extreme North and integrate it with modern technologies. According to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, indigenous peoples and local communities are recognized as the important actors in building a world that is resilient in the face of climate impacts [5]. 2. Factors, risks, and challenges to the indigenous communities in climate change in the Arctic We can rightly call the Arctic zone a “locomotive” of the modernization of the Russian economy [6]. In this vein, state policy is being drawn up, investments are attracted, and projects are being implemented to extract natural resources (gas, oil, gold, rare earth metals, etc.). Almost every one of these projects implemented in the northern regions of the country, one way or another, affects the territories of traditional nature use—the habitat of indigenous peoples of the North. Therefore, the issue of research and assessment of changes in these territories under the impact of climate change and industrial development is very relevant, since it has a multi- factorial specificity, centered on the unique culture of the northern people, its traditions, and its customs. In Russia, indigenous peoples of the North, as a rule, live in the rural areas of the Arctic zone, which population, according to the Federal State Statistics Service, declines annually. Therefore, it is important to study the changes in these territories and develop policies aimed at preserving not only local communities as a carrier of culture and traditions of northern peoples but also traditional economic activities (reindeer herding, fishing, hunting, etc.), since the reindeer herding is the basis of the traditional culture of the North (Figure 2). The future of the Arctic territories is connected, on the one hand, with the expansion of the zone of industrial development and the extraction in deposits and on the other hand the increasing pressure on the unique ecosystem of the Arctic, the changes in the territories of traditional nature use, the transformation of indigenous 3 Arctic Studies - A Proxy for Climate Change Figure 2. The numbers of the permanent population of the land territories of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation as of January 1, 2018 (number of people) [7]. Education organizations, units 1735 Number of medical treatment and prophylactic organizations, units 2045 Number of cultural and leisure type organizations, units 834 Libraries and museums, units 542 Number of sports facilities, units 10,161 Hospitality facilities and accommodation 1123 Shops and supermarket, units 28,364 Restaurants and cafes 3773 Settlements with post office, units 1735 Commissioning of residential buildings, square meters 1,496,550 Number of people living in dilapidated houses 192,411 Extension of a street water supply network, meters 7,566,841.0 Including in need of replacement, meters 2,411,098.0 Number of enterprises for utilization and neutralization of domestic and industrial waste, 151 units Table 1.